Why You Should Be 'Faking It'

Careers
I help executives & entrepreneurs boost productivity through wellness.

Getty

“Fake it until you make it” is common advice for anyone stepping into a new role or filling large shoes. What they’re really saying is that pretending will eventually lead to success, and they might be right. In fact, faking it is a strategic way to achieve your goals and reach new heights.

The best kept secret to achieve any type of success, is to be an avid visionary. There’s a long list of successful people at the top of their respective fields’ who credit mental imagery and visualization for their success. Among them are Oprah Winfrey, Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith and even Lindsey Vonn, four-time World Cup Champion for Women’s Skiing.

Visualization can be linked to the law of attraction, which has been backed up by scientific research in quantum physics and neurology. The LOA says that energy attracts like energy, or like attracts like. In other words, our reality is the result of all that we have thought, and further, suggests that our outer world is nothing but a reflection of what we’ve decided in the mind. The legendary Henry Ford, the sixth-wealthiest figure of the modern period, once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t –you’re right.”

Visualization isn’t just a success tactic to help you achieve your career goals. While it’s definitely worth mentioning that anyone who spends five minutes a day actively focused on positive thinking is guaranteed to see a shift, it’s also important to note that it’s only scratching the surface of how powerful our minds truly are. If you want to fully maximize the power of visualization, you have to think about visualizing as a meditative process where you focus on only positive outcomes. If you want to continue to grow in your life and career, you need to visualize.

Visualizing Is An Important Part Of Goal Setting

Focus your attention:To see real growth and progression, start by envisioning it.In order to focus your thoughts, it might help to first become aware of them. The key here is to pinpoint repetitive thought patterns, and replace them with intentional alternatives when they appear. Visualization is the predecessor to actualizing your goals. If focusing your attention is difficult a good thing to try and incorporate into your day is meditation.

Intentional thought and mental imagery: The purpose of visualizing is to focus on positive outcomes so much that they end up becoming real. You can start by creating a picture in your mind of either the desired outcome, the best case scenario, or a visual representation of how things will be different as a result of accomplishing your goal. Create these images with vivid detail; the more you can see, the more realistic it will feel to you.

Everything is energy, especially feelings: To visualize is to leave your current circumstance – even if just in your mind – and fixate your attention on a different outcome. When you do this, you create momentum around the feelings that are awakened when you have what you desire. If you can focus on the feelings that accompany visualization and positive thinking, you will attract and reflect positivity back to you. For a quick lesson on “everything is energy,” check this out!

Take action: Focused attention coupled with action is the quickest way to reach your goals. If you can go there in the mind, you can go there in practice. Visualization alone is useless if you don’t take action. Think of visualization as playing an active role in choosing your life – you must still move in the direction of your choices.

Focus on positive thoughts and feelings by visualizing what you want. In doing so, you will also boost your confidence and self-belief, while fueling your drive to achieve your goals.

I go beyond training with a straight-talking approach to wellness that focuses on an overall healthy lifestyle. For years I’ve educated celebrities and corporate executives on how to effectively incorporate fitness and nutrition into their busy everyday lives. I’ve appeared ...